you're worth it [applause] >> anderson: welcome back. snooki is coming back tomorrow to co-host and bringing her friend jwoww. an interesting episode. >> it's the first time that i drink it's crazy. >> anderson: thank you so much. see you tomorrow.

bye-bye. were budget cuts a factor in the fire in the delta. messy problem that's costing b.a.r.t. millions -- air head at noon.

a tough fight against a fire in the contra costa delta.

some people wonder if it had to be that way. good afternoon. i'm tori campbell. an early-morning fire on beltle island destroyed two homes and left a third badly damaged. the fire first broke out at 2:30 this morning on taylor road and quickly spread to two adjacent homes on either side. claudine wong explains why a series of issues may have impacted the response. >> reporter: had is what residents on taylor saw -- this is what residents on the 1400 block of taylor saw. flames devouring this one-story home. >> i was sleeping. somebody was banging downstairs. i went out and saw the house engulfed in flames. >> reporter: firefighters came from about five miles further because the closest firefighting station closed due to budget cuts. the single story could not be saved, it soon became clear, and the focus was saving the

others on either side. downed power lines hampered the effort to protect the brown home on the ear side. >> we didn't pull back completely. we will to readjust -- on either side. >> we didn't pull back completely. we had to readjust. >> reporter: and as the sun came up, the firefighters just continued to dump thousands of gallons of water on the flames which would die down, only to flare up minutes later. the firefight lasted for hours. in the end, it an aerial attack that made the difference. >> there's a lot of hidden places in there where the roof is sandwiched between that and the walls. >> reporter: this home was empty when the fire started. the fire investigator says right now there does not appear to be anything suspicious. in fact, he says all signs are pointing an electrical fire that probably started in the laundry room of the home. on bethel island, claudine

wong, ktvu channel 2 news. not everyone is happy with the new downtown loop in hayward. the project just converted one- way streets. brian flores is live with more. >> reporter: the city of hayward say they receive three or four miles either praising this work or criticizing, saying it could cause accidents. officially the hayward loop opened last friday but already there's been confusion from some long-time residents and commuters. the loop changes normally two- way traffic into one-way traffic with northbound merging. now, since the loop open there's been one motorcycle accident. although police say it had nothing 20 to with lane configurations. despite the there were signs,

long-time commuters say it wasn't enough and they are hoping the city does something to address it, including adding stoplights and overhead signs. >> the signs are being made as we speak and they will be up in the next few days or a week. that concern is very, very valid with the change that has been made. making it more confusing for people to recognize where they are for the landmark they had and it makes it easier. we're working with our contractor to get those signs up as soon as possible. >> reporter: commuters and pedestrians are the no the only ones affected. a business owner said business was tough at first when the construction started. >> some of these businesses, though, that don't have parking out front were almost destroyed. they had 70, 80% of their business taken away from them during the construction bro ses. a lot of these -- process. a lot of these guys are hoping

to come back now. >> reporter: the city says commuters will see stoplights, some of them tonight, we're live in hayward, brian flores, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, brian. san jose police are trying to track down a light-colored suv involved in a drive-by shooting. it happened at clyde middle school on hopkins school. the victim suffered at least one gunshot wounds and is being treated at the hospital. it's believed he may have been a former student at fischer. >> it didn't involve as far as we know, the activities on campus. it wasn't directed at the school. we have a lot of staff here to make sure that the school gets off to a smooth start. >> the principal says he will be communicating with parents about what happened.

police are looking into whether the shooting was gang-related. they are checking on two or three individuals with the victim when he was shot. the rain has urned on this first day -- returned on this first day of spring. commuters began the day with wet roads and drivers may be caught offguard by roads that are slippery from new rain mixed with an oil buildup. >> we want to remind people to slow down and increase your following distance. >> reporter: and the rain may be catching people offguard after a few days of sunny, warm weather. the rain follows a relatively dry weather that left reservoirs in decent shape but a sierra snowpack that is only two-thirds normal. this is a live picture of the wet weather. steve will have a complete forecast coming up. thousands of people in need will be getting the help today in san francisco.

new at noon, janine de la vega joins us live in san francisco to explain. good afternoon, janine. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. well, we're here at the bill graham civic auditorium. hundreds of people are waiting to get in to get services to help them. the big news is that a big tech organization is deciding to devote its time and effort to help the home les. this event is held every other month in san francisco where the needy can get services. the homeless can connect with doctors, dentists, mental health along with a variety of other resources. sf.city announced it is partnering with project correct and they represent 500 companies and they are encouraging the employees of those companies to volunteer and support the services. >> individuals will either volunteer their time in an event like this, offer job

training or mentorship or getting their company involved in actually sponsoring one of the larger events. >> reporter: the home is also that the tech workers will be motivated to donate money if they want to purchase eyeglasses or dentures for a homeless person. there was a huge turnout. about three-quarters were first- time volunteers. san francisco supervisors said the need continues to be great here in san francisco. in fact, an example he gave me is that in january, the city launched 311, where you can call to ask for homeless outreach if you dial that number. he said since that launched there's been a 50% increase in people asking for shelter and a 50% increase for those wanting to get into sobering centers. we'll have much more later on. david stevenson will have a full report coming up at 5:00. janine de la vega, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. oakland mayor jean quan spent the morning delivering

meals to homebound seniors. it was part of mayors for meals day held by the meals on wheels. a. mayor quan went door to door at the san pablo hotel which is a senior res deposition community -- residential community. >> it's one of these programs that helps the acceptiers. it is a smart -- seniors. it is a smart program. it could cost a lot more to take care of these people in these homes. >> meals on wheels delivers 500 meals per day throughout the city of oakland. some people could be eating genetically engineered salmon. it's awaiting approval from the fda. new at noon, tara moriarty is live with more on the grocery chains refusing to sell the fish. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. two markets here announced they will boycott this fish. one of them whole foods.

this comes as a decision from the fda is immiment. there is a big figure and a little fish. the big one is genetically engineered. it grows in half of the time required by atlantic sal month. we want to to show you the company that produces this. the officer says he's disappointed but he stands by the product and says his product is safe and healthy. everyone we spoke to said they are leery of the fish and would not buy it. >> i'm so glad that they are not carrying genetically modified fish. i think it's disgusting that it even exists. i was very disappointed when people voted to -- that it doesn't have to be labeled genetically. so i'm really happy whole foods is taking a stand. >> i'm sure it might be deeper. it just doesn't sound --

cheaper. it just doesn't sound right. >> reporter: now, trader joe's will not carry the modified fish. the fish is a farmed atlantic salmon that contains a growth hormone gene from the chinook salmon and a ginn nettic switch from the ocean pouch. they say the fish has not been tested properly and could compete wild salmon for food. but aqua bounty says the fish are sterilized and would be grown in tanks with little chance of escaping. now, if it were approved, they say it would probably not be laked genetically engineered because it didn't change the food. live from oakland, tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you, tara. the cost of a paper bag in santa cruz has just gone up. that's in santa cruz county. starting today, the price of a single paper bag goes from 10 cents to 25 cents and then next month, on april 22nd, which is

earth day, the massic bag ban is being expand -- plastic bag ban is being expanded to restaurants. the goal to keep the bags off the beaches and to keep from polluting monterey bay. i see this business as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our nations. >> what kind of welcome president obama is getting on his first visit to israel. steve paulson is up in a few minutes to see if any more rain will be squeezed out of this system. a pricey problem onburg, the big -- on b.a.r.t. the big effort to keep pigeons away.

highway 237 to interstate 880 express lanes generated $900,000 in tolls in the first year or 300,000 more than projected. revenue from the 680 lane was almost $200,000 higher than expected. all of this extra cash could help pay for more express lanes to be built. new lanes could be coming to 880, 580 in livermore, 680 in contra costa county and 880

south of leandro. and president obama is pledging unwavering support for israel. he received a warm welcome at the airport in tel aviv earlier today. that was followed by a tour of israel's iron dome missile defense system. he met behind closed doors with shim mon peres. they also a -- shim mon per -- shimon peres. >> in this work, the state of israel will have no greater friend than the united states. >> the president is meeting with benjamin netanyahu at his residence for dinner. the focus on israeli -- the focus is on israeli peace, the nuclear program and the civil war in syria. over the next two days, he will be making stops in the west bank and jordan. the recommendations of a year-long study to improve

oakland schools, we've just learned that the commission was study and the recommendations include moving up the date when teachers are hired. the report says delays often allow candidates to find jobs in other districts. the study also recommends simplifying teacher evaluations. teacher say teacher ratings are too confusing. the group advises lengthening the work day the teachers. the official work day up to seven hours is among the shortest in california. conflicting reports about how many marines were killed during a military training accident on monday in nevada. yesterday, a memorial was held for the victims. the veterans of foreign affairs says an eighth marine has died. but a u.s. marine spokesman says the death toll is still at seven. a 60 million-meter mortar exploded premature you will on monday. the pentagon has pulled all of

those rounds from -- prematurely on monday. the pentagon has pulled all of those rounds out. some clemens heard a knock at the door around 8:30 and when he answered the door, he was shot -- tom clemens heard a knock at the door around 8:30 and when he answered door he was show. 58-year-old was appointed to serve as head of d. originals c. by the governor in 2011 -- d.o.c. by the governor in 2011. the government is doing its part to cut down on underaged drinking. this st. patrick's day o.p.d. participated in a state-wide dekye operation -- decoy operation. a minor would ask an adull to purchase alcohol for them of if they cost plied -- alcohol for

them of if they col plied, they -- if they col plied, they were -- complied, they were cited. spike strips have been put down to keep birds from laying eggs and be. >> i can see them spending $7 million. it may off may not be too much. i would say the cleanup would be an issue of concern for any traveler. >> officials say the pigeon problem is a particular concern at the b.a.r.t. station near the coliseum, the daly city station and the mission street station. tomorrow will mark 50 years since alcatraz closed as a prison. the last inmates left the former prison on march 21st, 1963. the prison normally held about 250 convicts. it's now part of a national

park. the san francisco "chronicle" reports a special display of the reports will open in the model industries building on alcatraz tomorrow. well, finally some rain came through yesterday, late. overnight into today. still a little bit kind of holding on but i think we're almost done with this. i mean, not a bad system. the heaviest rain was up to the north bay. there were some decent totals up in mendocino county. >> the system is beginning to slide east and also south and a lot of cloud cover and a little bit of rain. projections in line. we thought there could be .50 plus. light rain in the morning is giving way to more shower activity here. .25 to .50. it was generally around .10 to .03. there goes last night's system. that cloud cover is really beginning to accelerate. things are winding down. some of this cooler air will

start to come in. we'll see that start to filter in. still a little bit of shower activity popping up. but i think we're almost done with this as it slides through. temperatures are very mild for some. 60s on the temperatures. we start off in the low to mid- 50s. you can see the tropical nature really coming up from the southwest. but the cooler air is beginning to punch in. cloudy with some sunbreaks. i think we'll see a few more. cloudy with some off-and-on rain. a little breeze has picked up as well. temperatures running about 5 degrees below average. should be between 62 and 67 this time of year. tomorrow we'll start to see rebound on the temperatures. a lot of 50s and 60s. a little clearing. mild conditions after a cooler morning. warmer weather, friday, saturday, sunday. maybe some rain next time this week. it looks pretty weak. >> we're getting late in the season. we're running out of time to

get any miracle. >> almost getting to april. >> i know. >> thank you. hp pavilion is ready for march madness. the tournament starts tomorrow. cal is among the team playing. they are the 12th seed and will face unlv at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. they are holding a free public practice at the pavilion. the other bay area team in the tournament is st. mary's. they beat middle tennessee and they will face memphis in that game tomorrow in detroit. and we'll have more of the noon news right after this.

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stocks rose on wall street after the federal reserve stood by the plan to boost the economy. that announcement came at 11:00 this morning, also concern is easing about a possible financial crisis in cypress. the nation needs a bailout to avoid defaulting on the financial obligations. the dow is currently up 63. the nasdaq is up 23. s&p is up 10. we are now less than a week away from the day the u.s. supreme court will hear oral arguments on proposition 8, which is california's ban on same-sex marriages. next tuesday, the court will hear arguments for and answer prop 8 along with another same- sex marriage case. that worn the challenge to the federal defense of mare arc -- marriage act. the supreme court said they would release same-day audio

presented. the court rayly does that. but they did not mention television coverage which legal experts say that probably won't be allowed. a bay area consumer group is warning about potential hidden fees with the municipal identification card. the city key created the i.d. cards in part for undocumented immigrants. a debit function was added to offer banking services. but the consumer's union tells the chronicle it found hidden fees. cardholders are charged $2 when they enroll and then they are charged $1 every time federal benefits are put on the card through direct deposit. san francisco's city attorney wants the federal government to crack down on energy franks and is urging the fda to require the amount of caffeine in the drinks be printed on the label. last year, the fda disclosed five deaths are possibly linked to the beverages. the company that makes the

drinks insist they are safe. a new study says shoe ari drinks can kill you. they've linked 180,000 obesity- related death the worldwide to sugary drinks. of that --s -- worldwide to sugary drinks. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news. we'll see you the next time news breaks. we're always here for you at ktvu.com and mobile ktvu.com. have a great day.